How customer experience helps iGaming operators hit the omnichannel jackpot
The iGaming vertical is witnessing a rising demand for a fast, efficient, and personalized player experience. According to Teleperformance's Global Insights Survey, the number of consumers interacting with brands across three or more channels has increased by 17% since 2019. As players use more channels to engage with brands, the importance of seamless experience and support can have a higher impact on player lifetime value.
Over the past several years, particularly due to the impact of the pandemic, brands have adopted a digital-first strategy and made significant investments in expanding their digital care and support capabilities. However, McKinsey's 2022 "The State of Customer Care Survey" reveals that only 12% of digital platforms have achieved a high level of integration. Without integration, a fragmented vision is created, resulting in gaps between separate touchpoints that hinder and disrupt the customer journey. These gaps create obstacles to mature customer relationships and build loyalty.
For iGaming operators to fully capitalize on the omnichannel opportunity, it’s vital to create a unified brand experience for their players. It is not enough to offer different touchpoints across multiple channels; a fully integrated approach is required. However, building an omnichannel strategy presents its challenges, ranging from designing the player journey and selecting the appropriate technology tools to fostering a customer-centric culture. The complexity of developing an omnichannel experience is particularly high for iGaming, presenting an additional challenge with regulatory nuances and varying market conditions.
While designing a transformation plan to the omnichannel experience, consider these four key points:
- CX Operational framework. Examine centralized and decentralized structures and opt for a concept that enables the implementation of changes quickly, facilitates faster scaling, and provides standardized, high-quality service. Ensure the implementation of processes to hire the right talent, effective and interactive training, as well as quality assurance processes, and workforce management to ensure KPI delivery. Provide employees with tools and protocols to focus on meaningful interactions and help resolve complex queries, regardless of the interaction channel.
- Technological infrastructure. Implement digital tools and automation to eliminate the need for asset depreciation and ensure greater business agility. As the iGaming industry evolves, new touchpoints and channels emerge, presenting opportunities to enhance the player’s experience. For example, the Metaverse has the potential to reshape customer-brand engagement, creating an immersive environment for the player. It is crucial that systems and tools are adaptable to these new opportunities and meet business needs to serve customers at the right time and through their preferred channels.
- Customer Insights. Leveraging customer data and advanced analytics allows for building a better experience and increasing customer lifetime value. To measure the performance of your omnichannel strategy, consider tracking customer satisfaction and effort at every touchpoint. Monitoring correlation between operational efficiency indicators and engagement across channels provides a holistic customer experience view and actionable insights.
- Brand and Player Safety. For the omnichannel approach, connecting the real-world persona with their online profile could be a paramount moment in protecting brand reputation and maintaining customer trust. All processes within player’s journey from acquiring, to retaining and monetizing should be user-friendly and intuitive whilst also ensuring proactive monitoring and mitigation of issues such as fraud, identity theft, and data security to eliminate risks. Create a shared responsibility framework and ownership within CX teams to address and escalate Trust& Safety practices and protect players and brand integrity.
Building an omnichannel offering for iGaming brands may be a complex challenge, but with a clear goal the rewards can be transformational.